Farmer shot dead during prosecution of brother’s murder case: fourth family victim in 32 years | Bareilly News

Bareilly: A man who prosecuted his brother’s murder case in court was shot dead by armed assailants while on his way to Bareilly from his village on Tuesday evening. Pushpendra Gangwar, a farmer from Khadra village in Bhuta police station area, is the fourth member of his family to be killed in the last 32 years. His brother Vinod was killed during the 2021 panchayat elections and the Bareilly court is expected to deliver judgment in the case on Thursday.
Pushpendra was stopped near the village of Padoli and shot four times in the chest by three assailants, who fled immediately after the shooting. SSP Anurag Arya and a team of officers from multiple police stations rushed to the spot. Arya, together with the field unit, SOG and surveillance teams, conducted a thorough on-site inspection, contacting local residents for additional information. In the ongoing investigation, police have so far identified two suspects.
Police said Pushpendra had long harbored enmity with local history writer Puranlal Gangwar, whose brother Pawan is currently in jail for Vinod’s murder. The violent feud goes back decades – Puranlal and his associates are said to have murdered Pushpendra’s uncles, Suresh Pal Gangwar in 1992 and Rambharose Lal in 1994. Arya said, “We have deployed multiple teams to arrest the suspects. fully insured by us.”
Pushpendra’s cousin Gendan Lal told TOI, “Puranlal and his family members have killed four people from our family in the last 32 years. Pushpendra prosecuted Vinod’s murder case and the verdict is expected on Thursday. Pushpendra received life threats, and he had told this to Bhuta SHO reported, but no security was provided to him despite a case of extortion being registered against him on the orders of the SSP. The police are equally responsible for the murder of my cousin.
A resident of Pushpendra village said, “Puranlal and his family members are active in politics and have held the positions of village headman, panchayat member etc. Challenging the election of village headman from our village always threatens the local people, and even the police rarely take action against them because of their political influence.”